1 comments about Panasonic SC-HT743 5-Disc DVD Home Theater System.

1. I bought this surround sound system so I could hear the explosives sounds behind my HDTV and Blu-Ray movies. I couldn't believe the price for a system that includes HDMI, Wireless, and professional looking speakers. When I got the system home I was impressed with the sound quality and easiness of setup. This system is one of the best out of the box surround sound systems I was able to find that included all the options I wanted. This is a great value for the money.

5 comments about Koss KS3101 Progressive Scan DVD Home Theater System.

1. I ordered this from Amazon just about this time last year & the KS3101 is still playing every dvd I throw into it...Store-bought, rentals, dvd+ and dvd- that I've burned with my computer. I have a 27" TV with RCA in/out jacks, so I'm no audio or video expert (nor do I have pockets deep enough to become one). The sound is infinitely better than the TV's built-in speakers (the main reason I purchased it), the dvd player is much more compatible than my Panasonic progressive scan dvd player (which I paid about $70 for and won't play dvd+ & has trouble with paper labeled dvd's). I don't expect it to crap out soon (hope not either), but if it did I'd still consider it a good buy for the much, much improved sound quality while watching the tube and the ~300 movies I've watched on it without a glitch.



2. Player consistently skips chapters as you watch the movie. Does not recognize that a disc has beed inserted half of the time. A very frustrating piece of equipment to use. Poor choice on my part. Money would be better spent some where else.



3. Hey was looking at this system because of the price and the tech specs for the price. I wanted to hook it up to my desktop computer so I don't really care if the dvd player busts. Does anyone know if the receiver will still take sound input using a Y-cable to the receiver? thanks



4. This is truly an excellent buy. The receiver/DVD player isn't very stylish, but the speakers produce clear and rich sound, and only distorts when it is turned all the way up. There is no need to run it all the way up though because the system is suprisingly powerful. The menu has a nice individual speaker setup list, so you can optimize each speaker. One word of caution though: DO NOT buy this if you intend to play just DVDs/CDs on it! The player reads disks with great difficulty and only works 7 out of 10 times. I recommend you hook up a better DVD player to the system as a receiver, and use it just for the speakers.



5. Its hard to write a single line for this product its a piece of junk, i bought this a year and half ago .Dont now wher to contact i tried all over again and again no reply finally got to trash i sujjest please dont buy this filty product and make ur modes... nothing is good about this product..... accept speakers
   good luck...

5 comments about Cambridge SoundWorks MegaTheater 505 DVD Home Theater System.

1. I just bought this system last week, and set it up this weekend. It rocks. Very cool look, awesome sound, and VERY easy set-up. Watching my favorite a.m. show- the Today Show this morning, and they reviewed a bunch of holiday gifts. Their tech. guy said that this was "Product of the Year". Biggest bang for the buck - and even sounds better than systems costing $10,000. Well, I've never compared it, but that's pretty impressive in my book.
   You will love this system!



2. Bought this system at Fry's Electronics, one day sale after Chirstmas and threw a New Year party with bunch of friends.
   They were so impressed with the sound and picture and thought I paid 2 grands for this system. Say goodbye to Sony, Bose and Yamaha for price/performance comparison.



3. Bought this system based upon the reviews. Bad decision. The system played cd's fine, and the sound was great, but the dvd player skipped all the time. Granted some of the dvd's we tried were a bit old/scratched, but they played ok on a $50.00 dvd player so you would expect them to be ok on one that costs 10X as much.



4. bought this 3 months ago. main unit burned out. base cube has lots of "connection problems". However, when it was working it sounded great. It was very stubborn to play certain dvd's.(took a long time to load many dvd's and cd'd. i am returning it tomorrow.



5. I'm on my fourth head unit, and this one only works intermittently. DVDs don't play, sound cuts out, on and on. Also, worst remote EVER. What's tragic is that while the head unit is clearly a piece of junk, the speakers are all great, and it sounds fantastic when it works.
   
   Now Cambridge isn't selling these any more. No surprise.

1 comments about Pioneer HTP-440DV 750 Watt Home Theater System.

1. Note: I am actually reviewing the HTP-2550DV My family purchased this system when we were remodeling our basement. I went to the store and browsed the isles for a little while until this one caught my eye. I liked the fact that it came with an A/V Reciever so i could listen to the radio on it. The biggest downside is that you can't program the reciever remote for the DVD player or vise-versa. The other is that the mounting hardwhere that the system includes can't be hung at an angle. I now have to go buy some seperate mounting brackets.
   
   The sound is amazing! When I put my Led Zeppelin DVD this thing roared. Also, with Star Wars, this system is amazing!

5 comments about Magnavox MRD500VR DVD/VCR Home Theater System.

1. mine too was broken out of the box. it doesn't matter who makes them Magnavox puts their name on it, People trust that name, they need to do the right thing.



2. Got this at Christmas 2003. After about 4-5 months the audio on the DVD player worked only intermittently. That problem seemed to spontaneously correct itself, but now the DVD freezes up completely after about 1.25 hrs. of play. The remote doesn't have a mute button. The sound from the speakers is good, but the problems with the DVD player are unacceptable.



3. I bought this product from Target a little over a year ago. We use the DVD player maybe once to twice a month at most. About 2 months ago (just after the warranty expired - imagine that), the DVD player would start freezing and locking up after a certain period of time. Maybe 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours. Very disappointed with this. I read something about this being a program issue or something in this machine. Otherwise, it works great, too bad I bought it for the DVD player. I think magnavox should be held responsible in some way.



4. This is the worst piece of equipment I believe I have ever purchased. I had it maybe 8 months and it began to freeze. At 9 months the VCR went out. Now nothing works I would stay away from this product, I think Magnavox will put their name on anything.



5. I don't write many reviews but had to agree with everyone else here - our DVD player broke. This was a gift, unfortunately it's sitting gathering dust in the basement now.

No comments about Samsung 2.1 Channel Black Bluetooth Home Theater System.

5 comments about Samsung HT-Q70 XM Ready Five-Disc DVD Changer Home Theater System (5.1 Channel).

1. I was amazed at the price for this home theater system with all the features it has. Upconversion looks pretty good. Sound quality is pretty good, but could use some tweaking (sometimes bass overpowers everything else). XM radio ready was what really got me excited about it and works good although sometimes its a pain in the [...] to read the info on the screen, it's real slow and usually cuts of the last part of the name of the song. After having this in my home for about 2 weeks I turned it on and shocked it. Well the whole screen went out and the volume knob no longer worked. I took the reciever/dvd player back and it was replaced no problem from Circuit City. Would have had to ship it back to Samsung and wait 2 weeks or more for them to fix it. So now I just make sure to use the controller to turn it on. Overall I'm very happy with it and for the price I dont think you can beat it.



2. I bought this unit for Christmas and by February it shorted out. Amazon only warrants it for 30 days so I had to send it back to Samsung for repair. They held it for 6 weeks supposedly waiting for parts, this is the manufacturer mind you, and after numerous calls they wanted to send me a refurbished unit in replacement of mine. I refused wanting a refurbished unit as I know they usually are junk and my unit was brand knew. Samsung refused to send me a new unit and indeed sent a refurbished unit. And quess what? The refurbished unit arrived with all the buttons on the face pushed into the case and not working! Big surprise? After several more calls to Samsung and ready to call the Better Business Bureau they agreed to send me a new replacement unit of similar style.
   As for the unit itself, the sound was very good and the features were great for the price. If you are lucky and don't have to send it out for repair this might be a very good sounding unit for the price but if you do need repairs good luck.



3. This product is the best home theater I have ever owned. Matched it with a Samsung 1080i DLP and get great picture and sound quality. Can't beat it for the money. Very easy set-up, only problem was that it is deep so watch cabinet size.



4. I only recently took the plunge into HDTV and home theater. I looked at a lot of reviews and decided to go with this unit because it was Samsung (and so is my TV) and because of the wireless-ready feature. I purchased it along with the wireless unit and couldn't be happier. The wireless unit is a small device (about the size of a thumb drive) that simply plugs into the back of the main unit. The wireless receiver unit then connects to the two rear speakers and you are all set. The sound is impressive and there are numerous fine-tuning features for audiophiles. Not being one myself, I just left most settings at factory defaults and it works fine for me.
   
   It comes with a good manual and has a lot of settings for different modes, all described in detail in the manual. The disc changer is awesome and allows you to leave a few audio CDs in it and still watch DVDs. The only thing I noticed about the changer is that it only remembers where you left off if you don't change to another disc. If you are in the middle of a movie and decide to continue later and consequently turn off the unit, it will start the disc over again the next time you turn it on because it will always begin at disc 1 in the changer. This took some getting used to for me because I was used to a single-disc unit that remembered where I left off before powering down the unit.
   
   The upconversion is awesome and the standard DVDs look great on a 1080i TV like my 40-inch Samsung. It also has plenty of connections. I have it connected to my TV via an HDMI cable and the playback is flawless.
   
   Overall, I am very pleased with this purchase.



5. Bought the unit earlier this year...sold it by the end. Great DVD player with upconverting dvd's to 1080i and controls very user friendly i thought. Only thing that i noticed right away was the sound quality, muddy kinda sound (Therefore making voices hard to distinguish unless turn up). Not sure if its just the speakers but doesn't have that crisp sound. Had a Panasonic HTIB before and was waaaayy better sounding than this. Again not sure if changing the speakers helps (which possibly could) but then again, is it worth doing? Actually looked into it but just went with a Bose 321, which I highly recomend =). Again if sound quality is not THAT important its a great system. If your looking for better quality for round the same price range, an Onkyo would defenitly be a better buy!

5 comments about Panasonic SC-HT640W 5 DVD Home Theater System.

1. A good sound through the front set of speakers, wireless rear speaker set-up that works OK. But overall works fine. There is no interference with wireless internet. Ocassionaly stops working to avoid interference with other electronics in the house...I have noticed it stop when we use the microwave that is near by.



2. I was not looking to break the bank on an entertainment center. I just wanted a reliable one with wireless rear speakers. This one has 2 speakers in one large wireless rear. One power plug no other wires for the speaker. The wireless is RF (RF- does not need a direct line of sight infa-red does). It was purchaced through Amazon from Discount Jungle refurb so it was only $185 (-$30 for getting Amazon card: $155). This is $400 new and most name brands with wireless rear are minimum $400. Works fine, sounds great. Great buy if your not looking for top of the line.



3. The sound was never that good. But I didn't have to worry about that since 6 months later it died. Kaput. Error F65. I replaced it with a Phillips purchased on sale at BestBuy. The quality & sound is so much better! Shop around on this one, it's not worth it.



4. I bought this because of the wireless rear speaker that comes with it. Problem is though I have a wireless network set up in the house for my computer and printer. When I use the internet it interferes with the speaker and the sound cuts in and out. Other than that this system works great and was easy to set up. I love having big sound with my big TV.



5. Well, it DID work. We paid $209.99 for this in January 2007 and for a while the system met our needs. Not a very strong rear (wireless) speaker, but okay. It was adequate. In September 2007 however, the rear speaker stopped working. Today the whole system stopped working altogether. It tries to power up but quickly shuts down with a display that reads F61. The User's Manual says when you have a F61 error to, "Check and correct the speaker cable connections. If this does not fix the problem, consult the dealer." Yep, it didn't sound good to me either. Not only are the speaker cable connections fine ~ EVERY cable and EVERY connection is just as it should be. It had a one-year warranty so we missed coverage by just about a month. I googled "panasonic f61" to find a veritable PLETHORA of info out there, NONE of it good. Apparently the dreaded F61 error is the "kiss of death", not only for this model but for others made by Panasonic as well. This error has happened to MANY ~ some reporting it's an overheat situation, others saying it's shorted out, others saying the unit shuts itself down to prevent a power surge that will blow out the amps. No one, apparently not even Panasonic, seems able to FIX the thing! Individual REPAIR SHOPS reported buying multiple replacement parts that had been recommended by Panasonic only to find out one by one over a period of months that none of them would repair the unit. People said that they waited endlessly for a replacement refurb. One person reported Panasonic wanted to charge them $250 to repair the unit. (Remember, this was originally $209.99) I lived thru this VERY problem with a Brother all-in-one printer and I know how these kiss of death errors work. So I'm saving myself a lot of aggravation and just going to take a trip to the dump on my way out shopping for another wireless HTIB. Needless to say it will NOT be made by Panasonic. No surprise here that I do NOT recommend this product at all ESPECIALLY learning this is in no way an uncommon occurence and Panasonic seems not only unwilling to stand behind their products but unaware of what to do to even FIX the thing! Before buying any Panasonic Surround Sound/Home Theater/DVD players may I strongly suggest that you first Google Panasonic F61???

5 comments about Sony DAV-FX10 DVD Dream Home Theater System.

1. I purchased this system after a couple of weeks of researching Home Theater Systems. I decided on the Sony because it had the inputs that I needed at an affordable price. Plus Sony has always treated me good with other products.
   
   I had no problem hooking up the system and I was blown away by the sound! I put in the War of the Worlds DVD and it shook my living room. I don't even know how high the volume can go because level 25 is very loud. Someone said in their review that the sound was bad, but I don't see how that is unless they hooked it up wrong.
   
   It has an optical audio input and a digital coaxial input. I used the optical for my Xbox and Halo2 sounds great. Now I have finally completed my home theater experience because I already had the 51" HD TV!! I am one happy customer.



2. I am pleased with the the video and audio quality of this system. However, the 5-disc tray takes a long time to load/rotate and the DVD player is very picky. It wouldn't play some of the DVDs I purchased overseas (NTSC & region-free) that played fine in my other, less expensive, DVD players.



3. I bought my 1st home theatre system back in 1996. I paid more then than I did for this system now. The funny thing is that this system would have cost me over a thousand dollars back then. Mind you this is without the 5 disc DVD/CD changer. They only had CD players back then. Anyway, the system came with very clear instructions on the set up & install. There is no need in purchasing speaker wire which is normally necessary when buying a home theatre system. What is even better is the fact that the speaker wires are color & polarity coded to avoid running the speaker wire to the wrong speaker or to the wrong input on the receiver. They are even cut to length based on if the speakers or surround rear or front speakers. The sound is very clear & the powered subwoofer will make your walls shake. I was surprised at the amount of sound output for the low price I paid for the system. There is even a Sony technical support line phone number that will help you troubleshoot problems if you run into any in the installation.
   The only negative thing that I see with the system is the fact that there are only two additional Video input jacks on the receiver. This is a problem for me because I could not integrate my VCR with the Tivo satellite receiver & Playstation 2 that I have connected to the receiver.



4. This system sounds pretty good considering the price, but overall there are a number of issues that I find problematic. I purchased mine earlier this year and I am already looking to replace it.
   
   First off - it has no HDMI outputs. Maybe you don't have a need for them now, but it is the best way to get a decent picture to your TV. Granted HD DVDs will eventually obsolete this whole system, but you might as well be able to get the best picture anyway.
   
   Next, I despise the remote. It has metal buttons that are retro in a bad way. They are small and poorly placed. There's no jog feature. Overall it is a poor design which is surprising because my other Sony remotes are fine.
   
   Load times are atrocious. The slot feed magazine is SLOW. Worse still, it will often force you to wait until the disc is loaded before it will let you eject - you get this maddening "That option not available at this time". In fact that message pops up often when you try to hit "Menu" to skip stuff even on discs that I've never had that problem with on other players. It is all very aggravating.
   
   Finally, I have been plagued by problems with noise lines. They are only really noticeable when the screen is dark but they are very annoying. I though it was that I didn't have decent cables. Well, after much experimentation (and expense on a series of escalating quality of cables) it appears to be coming from the player itself. I suspect I just have a defective unit, but my warranty ran out before it occurred to me that it wasn't a shielding issue.
   
   Overall, I recommend doing what I've been avoiding - buy a seperate receiver for sound. That way when the DVD player breaks or needs to be replaced with a snazzy new Blu Ray you can just plug that into the receiver instead of needing a whole new Theater in the Box.



5. The Sony Dream system is perfect for consumers that want a good sound quality...but don't feel like shelling out mega-bucks for a home theater system. Like the earlier reviewer mentioned, you get what you pay for. One dislike that I have is that the changing from disc to disc seems to take an extended amount of time. Also, there really is no way to tell which disc is in which slot...unless you fumble through all of them to find the movie, or audio disc that you are looking for.
   
   Good system for the money.

4 comments about Zenith ZHX-313 300-Watt Home Theatre System with DVD/VCR Combo.

1. I was looking for a smallish DVD/VCR home theater system for my bedroom at home, and was surprised to find that there weren't too many choices out there. This Zenith system fits the bill, and performs pretty well, considering the price.
   
   Firstly, setup was easy; I had no problems with the manual (actually didn't have to refer to the manual very much), and had the system up and running in about 15 minutes.
   
   DVD video quality using progressive scan and component video is excellent on my 32" Proview LCD TV. Audio isn't great, but I didn't expect superb quality with this system. However, it is good enough, with nice bass from the subwoofer. This is a good system for a small apartment or bedroom, since the audio won't be overpowering for a small space. One complaint is that there aren't any equalizer settings; in fact, you can't even adjust bass or treble. Another complaint is that the search function is clunky--press the search button once, and you skip to the next track; press and hold, and you can search; in order to increase the speed of the search, you have to repeatedly press and hold, which is a slow process.
   
   VCR works well, with fast rewind and fast-forward. Quality is fine. Radio also works well (at least FM; AM is staticky, which I presume is due to interference from the TV or possibly the theater unit itself).
   
   I wasn't able to compare this unit directly with other similar systems, but I did see some bad reviews for Magnavox and Philips (my last Philips DVD/VCR standalone constantly ate tapes). But so far, I'm pretty satisfied.



2. I installed this system in a Class A, 37 foot RV. I got it at Circuit City. It is excellent for the small sized area in the living/kitchen/dining area of a Class A RV. The other units I saw were 600-700 watts which would overpower the room size and get you kicked out of the RV campground by the Campground Manager :) Also, this unit is not much bigger than the standard DVD and it has not only the DVD but also the VHS VCR. In addition, it has a RF output for use with the older TV sets in older RV's; therefore you do not need an RF modulator. The picture is great even with the old TV set. When I replace the TV set with a newer one, I can bring the video over via a S-Video cable and I expect the picture will improve dramatically. The RV had front speakers and rear speakers so I added two more front speakers, a center speaker and the sub-woofer. The system is perfect for an RV since it saves so much space because everything is in that one case and the power will not overpower the RV and blow the windows out! For the money, this unit solved all the problems I was having with the old system that was in the RV completely.



3. Like one of the other reviewers who wrote about this product, I was just looking for a VCR replacement, with possibly a built-in DVD player. I found myself looking at this thing, which was only $30 more than a middlin' quality DVD-VCR combo deck. I've gotta say that this thing is a "no-brainer". I'm sure there are individual products which offer superior DVD players, VCRs, receivers, speakers, radio tuners, and control. But, to get all of this in a single VCR-sized box and for only $150?!?! I've listened to this product and for whatever deficiencies anyone could name, it's pretty darned nice!



4. I have now gone through two of these units. The first one lasted 10 months and the second one lasted 4 months. In both cases, the dvd player broke. Zenith's warranty is 3 months for labor so it would cost me more to repair it than to just buy a new one. I will never purchase a Zenith product again after this experience.